Sunday Beer & Blue Laws

A group is currently lobbying for Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana, and they claim to have over 10,000 signatures on a petition thus far.

These Sunday no-no regulations, known as Indiana's blue laws, prohibit alcohol sales, as well as the sale of cold beer at drug, grocery, and convenience stores; however, the group, Hoosiers for Beverage Choices, believes they are unfair. Dollars from Sunday alcohol sales are currently being raked in by restaurants and sporting events, that are not affected by these laws, yet grocery stores and other retailers are denied entry to the game, they say.

Here's a sampling of three facts they provide on their website, which is located at http://www.beveragechoices.com/ :

*Indiana is one of only fifteen states that completely prohibits the carry-out sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays.

*Since 2002, thirteen states have repealed laws restricting alcohol sales on Sundays.

*Indiana is one of only three states that prohibits retailers from selling alcohol on Sunday, yet allows restaurants, taverns, and numerous sports and community events to sell alcohol by the drink on Sunday.

(A little research showed that those three states are Connecticut, Georgia, and Indiana... an unlikely trio.)

So, this is an argument that is economically-driven. In fact, industry news reports that alcohol sales in general can account for between 10 to 20% of an average restaurant's annual revenue, as there's no denying that the mark-up on drinks is substantial. Certainly, other retailers are looking for some of those dollars to be spent in their own retail establishments.

But is it actually a better scenario to allow Sunday retail sales, or will there be other negative ramifications from it?

Blue laws have an interesting past, trying to "enforce moral standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping," as this Wiki entry states at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law In an age of many retailers being open on Sundays, is it hypocritical to enforce no Sunday beer, while the Wal-Marts of the world in many rural areas appear to be the after-church gathering places for many shoppers?

All interesting questions, that's for sure.

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".